2 quotations

The pick was [then] used to hammer on the surface, and by this means,
the Angle Ditch was discovered. The sound produced by hammering on an
excavated part is much deeper than on an undisturbed surface, a
circumstance worth knowing when exploring a grass-grown downland,
though not applicable to cultivated ground.

This opinion, in its general form, was that of the sentience of all
vegetable things. But, in his disordered fancy, the idea had assumed a
more daring character, and trespassed, under certain conditions, upon
the kingdom of inorganization. I lack words to express the full
extent, or the earnest abandon of his persuasion. The belief, however,
was connected (as I have previously hinted) with the gray stones of
the home of his forefathers. The conditions of the sentience had been
here, he imagined, fulfilled in the method of collocation of these
stones –in the order of their arrangement, as well as in that of the
many fungi which overspread them, and of the decayed trees which stood
around –above all, in the long undisturbed endurance of this
arrangement, and in its reduplication in the still waters of the
tarn. Its evidence –the evidence of the sentience –was to be seen,
he said, (and I here started as he spoke,) in the gradual yet certain
condensation of an atmosphere of their own about the waters and the
walls. The result was discoverable, he added, in that silent, yet
importunate and terrible influence which for centuries had moulded the
destinies of his family, and which made him what I now saw him –what
he was.

[Edgar Allen Poe. The Fall of the House of Usher]

a question

I recorded a few minutes in all three rooms. I recorded the toilet
flushing and the shower running. I recorded the water running in the
kitchen sink, the rattle of dishes and the opening and closing and hum
of the refrigerator. I recorded on the balcony. Now I lay down on the
bed and read some selections from The Magus into the recorder.

[William S. Burroughs. Cities of the Red Night]

… the necessary knowledge is that of what to observe

[Edgar Allen Poe. Murders in the Rue Morgue]

what exactly is detection?

what is the work of the detective? Is he or she simply directed by the
physical evidence, by the science of forensics towards a conclusion
backed up by possible confessions? Is it not rather, as Edgar Allen
Poe identifies in the very first detective fictions, a question of
knowing "what to observe," of where to look within this work which is
precisely an examination of the materiality of the world; an approach
shared by the (geophysical) archaeologist, the knowledge of how to
excite a substance, of how and where to observe the reaction. What and
where exactly are the signifying elements within a certain complex set
of materials? What are the symptoms (an unwilled exposure of
signification)? Paranoid steganography meets psychoanalysis meets
detection under Burroughs; "… everything he sees or hears is there
at that time to be seen and heard"

carrier and subsequent detection

an experiment

Ordinary awareness is one of the biggest mysteries of our age: scientists
are totally baffled by the fact that humans enjoy "inner experience"
along with their behavior and are at a loss to explain the origin of this
experience tho much progress has been made in explaining the behavior. One
small group of mind scientists believes that mind is a quantum effect and
that disembodied entities (which might be called "souls") manipulate
the body by willfully causing quantum possibilities to become actual. In
this view mind enters the body from outside (a philosophical position known
as "dualism") by operating on certain quantum-uncertain parts
of the nervous system.

For centuries, special people have claimed to be possessed by discarnate
beings–spirits of the dead, beings from other planets or higher dimensions.
Members of the Consciousness Theory Group felt that there was something
vaguely unethical about possessing an already occupied body and wondered
if we could create an empty "consciousness-friendly" vessel and
invite wandering souls to occupy it.

[arduino, quantum.py - change USB, change file to save to]

a schedule of experiments

1st day:

Examination of classical EVP techniques:

A short summary of EVP/ITC techniques:

We can attempt a rough, non-exhaustive division or classification by
way of carrier (excitation), although, at the same time, the choice of
carrier usually dictates the subsequent detection technique (the
resolving of a signal).

audible/sound

Excitation by way of wide-band white noise flooding the room
(generated electronically and/or through amplification of physical
processes such as running water). The magnetic tape or cassette
recorder is used as a detector, with recordings played back for
subsequent aural analysis (detection). Recordings are also made with
no excitation or carrier, and the recorder is also used where any
audible detection is implied (with, for example, excitation by way of
radio waves, detection by diode). This audible form of detection
characterises EVP practice, as opposed to ITC, which embraces all
forms of technological trans-communication.

low frequency electromagnetic phenomena (radio waves)

Encompassing excitation by way of radio transmission (the use of a
signal generator within Raudive's autotransmission method, the use of
high frequency (HF) or HF modulated white noise). Detection is by way
of the simple diode detector (a germanium diode attached to the tape
recorder), or stock AM radio receiver. Excitation can also be ignored
or handed off to other parties (the inter-frequenz method of Raudive
tuning between broadcast stations, the various frequencies assigned by
different researchers such as Juergenson). Subject to further
encodings we could also group here messages received by way of
telegraph (in Morse code) and by telephone (Phone Calls From the
Dead - 1980 - Rogo and Bayless).

We can group here the provision of a light carrier (the ultrafon), and
the detection by way of photomultiplier tubes, photodiodes and light
sensitive materials (photographic film and paper), with the latter
detection ushering in the realm of thoughtography (Ted Serios,
Tomokichi Fukurai). The work of Klaus Schreiber (Rainer Holbe. Bilder
Aus dem Reich der Toten. 1987.) is exemplary in the refining the use of
video technology within ITC practice.

Few experiments are documented, but mention is made of a Mr Stark,
experimenting with the modulation of an ultrasonic carrier through
arrangements of thin tubing. [The Mediumship of the Tape Recorder: A
Detailed Examination of the (Jurgenson, Raudive) Phenomenon of Voice
Extras on Tape Recordings - David J. Ellis. pp73]

results

classical EVP

recordings

experimental platforms

hard disk drive as magnetometer/seismometer

The hard drive is stripped of all main components other than frame and
the magnet/coil assembly (the read/write head). A spring or rubber
band is attached to the tip of the r/w head and stretched/attached at
the other end to the hard drive frame or body (at the top). A weight
(a bolt) is hung from the head. A differential op-amp is wired to the
coil.